This invention relates to a skate guard which protects a skate runner and enables a skater to walk while wearing skates.
In the past, there have been many different types of skate guards. For many years, the prevalent skate guards for ice skates were one piece molded elastomeric guards which were made and sold in various lengths suited for skate blades of different lengths. These skate guards were relatively expensive to manufacture because different molding dies were required for manufacturing guards of different lengths. The marketing and distribution of these devices were complicated by the fact that various lengths of skate guards had to be available.
In recent years, it has become a practice to mold elastomeric skate guards in two pieces. A front piece is connected to a back piece, and these two pieces are connected together by two longitudinally extending helical tension springs which are mounted on the outboard surfaces of the skate guards. The purchaser cuts the pieces to a length suitable for his or her skate blades, and attaches the tension springs to the two pieces. The springs hold the front and rear pieces together in longitudinal alignment with each other. When these two piece skate guards are mounted on a blade, there is a gap between the first and second pieces. In the area of this gap, there is no protective member directly beneath the bottom surface of the blade. Thus, the blade is exposed to possible damage from objects or materials which enter the gap between the two pieces.
It also has been known to provide a skate guard in which front and rear pieces are connected together by stretchable elastic bands, but these bands are flaccid so that, when the guards are not in use, the front and rear pieces can be arranged in side-by-side positions. These bands do not effectively protect the exposed edge of the blades in the gap between the front and rear pieces.
One object of the present invention is to provide a skate guard which is sold in one length and can be modified by the purchaser so it may be used for various blade lengths. Another object is to provide a guard of the type which has front and rear pieces connected by an elastic center piece which is shaped and positioned to protect the runner from damage. A further object is to provide a guard of the type which has front and rear pieces connected by an elastic center piece, wherein the center piece provides a tread surface. Still another object is to provide a guard of the type which has front and rear pieces connected by an elastic center piece, and in which the center piece is stiff enough to keep the front and rear pieces in longitudinal alignment with each other. Additional objects are to provide a guard which is shaped to facilitate accurate cutting when it is cut to length, and to provide effective and attractive treads and bumpers on the front and rear pieces. Further objects are to provide a skate guard which is durable, attractive, manufactured relatively inexpensively, and can be conveniently configured by the user or a skate shop for use with skate blades of various lengths.